Politics

In Her First Speech Since Her Concession, Hillary Clinton Is Still Showing Us She’s a Leader

We live in strange times. Donald Trump is our President-elect. Horrifying stories about how the new administration is mulling a Muslim registry are popping up, as though the world learned nothing from World War II. Protests are sweeping the country. In times like these we need our leaders to speak out, and speak loudly. So I was happy to see Hillary Clinton back out in the public eye, speaking at the Children’s Defense Fund. She spoke passionately on behalf of children, but she also had a message for people who might be feeling like things are a little overwhelming and hopeless at the moment.

I know this isn’t easy. I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was. The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this. America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country. Fight for our values. And never, ever give up.

But as great and necessary as it was to hear Hillary Clinton, who has every right to feel burned by this country, preach about the importance of not giving up, the moment that stood out from the night was when she talked about her mother’s hard life and wanting to be able to go back in time and tell her what her sacrifices would enable her daughter to do. Typically after a normal election, the loser disappears for a while. This was not a normal election. Thankfully, she’s hanging around.